Pepper books House of Blues Anaheim for a January Saturday

The Kona-born trio, with Bumpin Uglies opening, just announced Saturday, Jan. 16, 2027 at House of Blues Anaheim. Here's what to know.

Orange County has always had a soft spot for reggae with a surf-town accent, and few bands have spoken that language longer than Pepper. On Saturday, Jan. 16, 2027, the trio heads to House of Blues in Anaheim with Bumpin Uglies opening.

The show was announced Nov. 2. It starts at 7 p.m., tickets are through Ticketmaster, and the room holds 2,200. A midwinter Saturday is a smart slot for a band whose whole sound is basically a beach day.

For newer fans, a quick primer. Pepper is guitarist and vocalist Kaleo Wassman, bassist and vocalist Bret Bollinger and drummer Yesod Williams. The band formed in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1997, per the Rialto Theatre's band bio. They call their sound "Kona Dub-Rock": reggae, alternative rock and dub, run through island rhythms and a little punk energy.

They have kept busy lately. *VISIONS*, the band's ninth studio album, came out July 18, 2025 on its R4RE Records imprint, according to First Avenue. More recently they released the *Makai* EP, six songs whose title is a Hawaiian term that roughly means "by the ocean," and "End of the World," a June 2026 single featuring The Movement, listed on Apple Music. Most of this past summer went to the High Tide Summer Tour with The Movement, which took them through rooms like Chicago's VIC Theatre in June (Jam USA).

A midwinter Saturday is a smart slot for a band whose whole sound is basically a beach day.

The opener is worth showing up early for. Bumpin Uglies came out of Annapolis, Maryland, and have built their following the long way, with constant touring and big spring runs (Grateful Web). They mix reggae, punk and acoustic songwriting in a way that sits comfortably next to Pepper.

House of Blues Anaheim is a good room for this kind of show: big enough for a real crowd and a real low end, small enough that you're never far from the stage. Pepper fans tend to sing along to everything, and this is a room where that works.

What to know: it's a Saturday show more than two months out, so there's time, but don't leave it until January. Get there by 7 for Bumpin Uglies, and plan for parking and traffic around the resort district.

There's a reason Southern California keeps welcoming this band back. Pepper songs work best when there are a couple thousand people singing them together, and on Jan. 16, in the middle of winter, Anaheim gets one warm night of that.

Sources: JamBase: Pepper at House of Blues (jambase.com); Rialto Theatre: Pepper (rialtotheatre.com); First Avenue: Pepper (first-avenue.com); Apple Music: Pepper (music.apple.com); Jam USA: Pepper and The Movement High Tide Summer Tour (jamusa.com); Yellow Scene: Pepper (yellowscene.com); Wikipedia: Bumpin Uglies (en.wikipedia.org); Grateful Web: Bumpin Uglies Announce 30+ Date Spring Tour (gratefulweb.com)